Jerry's August 22nd Update!

Thanks Uncle Don!!!

Jon
don & vicki said...

It is 2;50pm and I just left Jerry after being with him since around 10:00am. Vicki and I arrived yesterday afternoon and were amazed at the progress!!!Today I watched some of his therapy and he continues to improve. I went with him to pick up his new glasses, which are just fine. When we returned, he pottied and tried to eat, but he was tired, so they helped him onto the bed. I left and will return later this afternoon.In all, I cannot say enough about the progress since I saw him two weeks ago. If this continues, I expect near full recovery (at least from my perspective), granted he has quite a way to go, but the speed of the progress to date is nothing short of spectacular.My thanx to Carol and Merle and everyone else who has given the moral support and encouragement to him. Let's keep it up.Uncle Don

Jerry's August 21st Update!

Hello everyone,

As I mentioned last week, Maryann and I have returned home for the time being and will update this blog as often as possible. We're going to be depending on folks like you who visit with Jerry to keep us posted. We'll also let you know what we here from the nurses and doctor.

As I write this I'm in Boston on business and can't help but think how Jerry's doing. When it was time for us to leave we were not preparred to go! But getting a message like the one we recieved from our good friends Carol and Merle really helped! Thanks Carol and Merle!!!

What a super day your dad had. As we discussed on the phone, he could throw the balloons back and forth numerous times with his left arm; stood up and down and transferred from walker to wheelchair; also put on his own sweatshirt and complained of the stains on it!! We went to eye doctor and had 2 imbedded hairs removed and he was able to pull himself with BOTH arms up against the contraption they use to view the eyes and hold himself up for an extended time. He could look whichever direction the doctor instructed in order to thoroughly view the eyeball. Look at the pics. They are awesome. We had a long day but fulfilling. He also sat right at the table and ate regular cauliflower, mushrooms, rice with green onions and creamed chicken -- in chunks, not pureed. Amazing progress. He bragged on Jessie and Tracy and Joseph and how helpful they were. Missed Boo and Jon a lot but excited about everyone coming. Was hoping to see Susie and eldee and asked us to check on them -- which we did. Also told us of his prescription glasses he had ordered before the stroke. We checked at the South Kaiser and found, sure enough, he had ordered them and they were ready to pick up. Waiting on date for transport to get them fitted rather than just pick them up. I talked with the Eye Department and they said we could just pick them up but preferred, if possible, to have him come in and make sure all was okay with them. Your dad liked that too as he loved the outing. Kept asking us what made us come and over that fateful day of the stroke and how did we know he needed help. Said he remembered the phone ringing and ringing and getting mad about it cuz he couldn't get to it. Rambled enough but it was just such an awesome day. Sure miss you guys. Love ya, merle and carol

Jerry's August 16th Update!

He's baaaaack! Today we were check out of the hospital and were able to get Jerry back to the rehab center. I know the hospital visit was a little scary, but it was just the thing Jerry needed to get rid of the pain. Over the course of the last few day he's been tested, checked out, prodded and even vaccuumed. We felt confident there wasn't anything he has that they didn't see. Once back at the rehab Jerry recieved an incredible welcome from residence and staff alike. He got settled in his bed just long enough to be welcomed by his physical therapyst. They took him and started working him out. Once done with that he was in high spirits and wanted us to find his wallet. Maryann asked "why do you need your wallet?" He replied, " I want Jon to go get me an ice cream"! He also wanted to read all of the cards that you've sent. He didn't want us to read them, but wanted to read them himself. Once of the cards he recieved was from some of the staff at his favorite bank, (Bank of the Cascades) He immedialty asked Maryann to grab his cell phone and called the bank. It was great, he spoke to one person and then another and another till he spoke with almost everyone there. This really put him in a great mood. Thanks!

Please continue to send your cards and comments, as he begins to rehab and continue to make his remarkable recovery, your words will keep him focused and motivated!

Thanks so much!

Best,

Jon

Jerry's August 14th and 15th Update!

Things have been happening here so quickly, it's been hard to keep everyone posted. As you read in my last post, we had some problems with excessive air (gas) in Jerry's stomach as well as a urinal tract infection. We thought we had gotten through that and were feeling good about being back at the rehab. Well when the doctor came in Tuesday morning he examined Jerry and said "this man is sick"! He spoke with us and received our consent to send Jerry back to the E.R. Once there Jerry was examined by a doctor who oddly enough use to be a fireman and if that wasn't enough... his wife was also a fireman. He immediately bonded with Jerry and assured us that he would do whatever it takes to get him squared away! He ordered a CAT/SCAN and when the results came in, he was able to pinpoint the source of the pain. Because of the urinal infection Jerry's kidneys and intestines went into paralysis. This rendered his "plumbing" useless and allowed excess gas to infiltrate his "inners". He immediately put together a game plan and the staff here executed flawlessly. As a result of the intestines not working, Jerry had a lot of back up that needed to be extracted. They literally hook him up to a special vacuum and sucked the "stuff" right out of his body. This was pretty damn gross, but Maryann and I were here for the whole thing. One funny thing was when Maryann thought she heard a gurgling sound. She asked me to check it out. When I got there I lifted his arm and the "stuff " started coming out and spilled on my shoes! Nice"

Today was 100% better. Jerry got his color back and the doctor said things couldn't have worked out better. He even had the opportunity to work with the occupational therapist. She was literally amazed at how he's progressed overall (she had seen him when he first got here 3 weeks ago). She put him through a regiment of exercises and movements which he did flawlessly. Carol, Merle, Maryann and I were almost cheering with every move.

Bottom line, Jerry is a fighter and is smack dab in the middle of a prize fight. What's the prize....A QUALITY LIFE! And even though he's taken a few "good" shots, he's gotten up every time and keeps on fighting!

Stay tuned for more round by round "let's get ready to rumbllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle" coverage!

Jon

Jerry's August 13th Update!

Today was tough day for Jerry. First, during this mornings visit with Carol and Merle, they noticed that Jerry seemed to be depressed. That may have had something to do with his son Rick going back home after a short visit. Rick's visit was good therapy for Jerry! As the day progress, the pain we spoke about in yesterday's blog returned. Only this time the pain was intensified. Jerry was literally yelling from the pain and if you know Jerry, you know he has a high tolerance for pain. We had the nurse come in and check and upon inspection she noticed that his feeding tube had backed up and was leaking. This was all we needed to insist that he be transported to the hospital ER from the re-hab facility. Once there, we waited and waited........ and then waited some more, then finally........a doctor was able to see him. They took some x-rays and found two things. One was he has an urinary tract infection down below and that my friend can be very painful. The other thing that was bothering him (he stated that it felt like his kidneys were on fire) was a severe case of excess gas. The doctor speculated that this may have been caused by air that somehow was in the large syringe that is use to push Jerry's meds directly into his stomach via his feeding tube. The x-ray showed large pockets of air everywhere. They gave him some medication for the gas and pain killers ease the other aches and pains and then allowed us to have him transported back to the rehab center.

The biggest take away here is that Jerry still has a long way to go and no matter what we want, he needs time and prayer to get through this.

Stay tuned for our report tomorrow when we meet with his doctor!!!

With love,

Jon and Maryann

Jerry's August 11th And 12th Update!

Hello everyone!

As Maryann and I prepare to go home at the end of next week, I want to let you know I will not continue to do an update everyday as I don't want to make news where none exist. Jerry has been doing very well with his rehab and I will continue to keep you informed as his situation and heath dictate. You should know that he's had a great weekend filled with family and friends. The best thing I've noticed is how sharp he is mentally. His wit and humor, his ability to understand what's being said and what's going around him. Today day was a exhausting day, Jerry had Sonya, Benito and the kids there for most of the morning and Rick was with him till about 2:00. Jerry was a gracious host even at his own expense. When Rick asked him how he felt he said he felt "perky" as the day went on he began to get very tired. Rick, Maryann and myself went to get something to eat and when we returned, Jerry was not the same happy guy we left. He was feeling some pain in his stomach where his feeding tube is placed. He also was experiencing pain in his neck. The biggest problem today was his severe discomfort with what he called heartburn. He was really hurting and we were able to get his nurse to give him a dose of Prilosec. This seemed to work, however, we'll need to ask the doctor on Tuesday why he's having so much pain. The nurse came in and then gave him his pain killing cocktail. Even with this he still was in pain but he endured until the medicine knocked him out.

I know Jerry will be sad tomrrow when Rick goes home and Maryann and I will do our best to keep him company.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers and I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Jon

Jerry's August 10th Update!

Today was a busy day for Jerry. He got a "king sized" helping of family today. First thing this morning, Sonya, Benito and the kids showed up and then Rick got here and they went straight over to see Jerry. When they got there they were rewarded by seeing Jerry use his walker to walk down the hallway. This was another first in Jerry's rehabilitation. Jerry also downed a few more cups of coffee and was treated to a soft serve ice cream from "Dairy Queen"! It was great to see Rick taking care of Jerry and I know it was a very special time for Jerry to have his son here! One thing that sticks out from today, Jerry was able to lift his left arm. This was significant in that as a result of the stroke, Jerry's lost functionality of most of his left side. It was good to see him want to make progress and put in the work!

Well until tomorrow........

Jon